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This simple Lighter Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta is made in 30 minutes and uses just one pot. It’s the perfect quick-cooking pasta that’s great for both busy weeknights and laid-back weekends too. Every bite is layered with spicy flavor, bell peppers, crispy chicken, the absolute best creamy parmesan sauce (made on the lighter side), and finished with fresh basil.
If there was one pasta to make this week, this is it. Hands downs, one of my favorites. And for two reasons. First, this is so, so, so easy to make. Simply boil the pasta, sear the chicken, make the sauce, and toss!.
Simple, simple.
And second? There is so much flavor. Mostly thanks to a good spoonful of my homemade cajun seasoning blend…it’s delicious.
And really all I have to say is that I wish I would have put this one together sooner, it’s soo delicious and so easy. A great new addition to your recipe rotation!
The Process
As you might guess, this is pretty simple and straightforward. But I gave it some get-up-and-go with the addition of my cajun seasoning blend.
Start with the pasta. For this particular recipe, I like to boil and drain the pasta first.
While the pasta is boiling, start prepping. Chop the chicken, prep the bell peppers, and grab some herbs. The idea is that by the time the pasta is finished boiling, all the other prep work will be complete.
Once you drain the pasta, move on to the chicken. Toss it with a little cajun seasoning, then cook it until it’s just crisp.
Now that sauce…
First, you’ll need to cook up some onions, peppers, garlic, herbs, and a touch more cajun seasoning. Then add a splash of chicken broth, milk, and plenty of parmesan. Next comes the ingredient that keeps the sauce creamy without adding any additional cream or butter…the tiniest amount of cream cheese.
I know cream cheese isn’t typical, but I swear it creates a silky smooth sauce every time. And a little goes a long way. Trust me, it really does the trick!
Once the sauce comes together, toss in the pasta, and add the chicken back in. And that’s it! Top with additional parmesan and lots of fresh basil and thyme.
Yummm!
This recipe is all about the sauce and that spicy cajun chicken. The sauce is slightly spicy, herby, and ever so creamy. It’s my favorite combo. And the chicken? It’s a game-changer, tender and delicious, and just perfectly seasoned and spicy! SO GOOD in this creamy pasta.
This is the perfect dish for livening up an average Wednesday night. Or maybe save it for a Friday night. Either way, everyone loves this simple, creamy pasta!
Looking for other quick pasta recipes? Here are a few…
Jammy Cherry Tomato Pasta with Crisp Lemon Rosemary Chickpeas
Southern Style Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pasta
20 Minute Lemon Butter Pasta with Ricotta and Spicy Breadcrumbs
Lastly, if you make this Lighter Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lighter Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 467 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound short-cut pasta
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound chicken tenders, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1-2 teaspoons cajun seasoning
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 bell peppers, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup milk
- 2 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta al dente, according to package directions. Drain.2. In the same pot set over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the onion, chicken, and 1 tablespoon cajun seasoning. Cook until browned all over, about 5 minutes. Spoon the chicken onto a plate.3. To the pot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, the bell peppers, and garlic. Cook another 5 minutes until the peppers are soft. Stir in 1-2 teaspoons cajun seasoning. Add a pinch each of red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook another minute, until the spices are fragrant, then pour in the broth and milk. Add the cream cheese. Whisk until smooth. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook 5 minutes, until thickened slightly.4. Stir in the parmesan. Then toss in the pasta and chicken and cook 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil. Serve immediately topped with additional basil. Enjoy!
Notes
Homemade Cajun Seasoning: mix 2 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1 tablespoon onion powder, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper, 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon black pepper. Makes 3/4 cup.
4 out of 4 diners agreed this was a “make again please.” I just happened to have Creole Spice from New Orleans and Spugnole pasta in my pantry, so it was an obvious choice. I did use closer to 4 oz. cream cheese and 1/2 cup half/half and 1/2 cup skim milk, because it was what I had. Perfect creaminess and flavor.
Hi there! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! ? xTieghan
hello! what pasta shape did you use for this recipe?
Recommend not browning the chicken with the onions, as the chicken will steam instead with the water released from the onions. Add onions to the peppers/garlic step instead.
Hi Sarah, thanks so much for this great tip! xTieghan
SO GOOD!
Thank you so much! xTieghan
I made this tonight for the third time.
For anyone commenting about the thickness of the sauce… I just let this sit for 5 mins before serving… stir it up… and it sticks to the noodles nicely. I follow this recipe exactly and it works every time.
My 5 year old daughter always has 2 servings of this recipe it is SO good!
Hi there! So happy to hear you are loving this recipe! 🙂 xTieghan
Yum! I give this one 5 stars!! It’s a delicious & easy one pot meal that I’m sure I will come back to over and over. Everyone loved it! It was pretty spicy, so I would probably tone down the Cajun and red pepper flakes for kids who can’t handle too much spice. I doubled the cream cheese just because I love it and I wanted it super creamy.
I noticed a lot of people said their sauce wasn’t thick enough, but if you truly follow the recipe and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes it will thicken! Mine was super liquid-like at first but thickened up perfectly after 5 minutes of heat.
Also, I added fresh tomatoes for an extra veggie and it was delicious.
Hey Kelly,
Happy Friday!! I so appreciate you giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Well, after reading the reviews here, I cut down the amount of pasta (but not enough, should have just halved it), added some cream for more and a thicker sauce, doubled the cream cheese and Parmesan and simmered the sauce for like 15 minutes, but in the end the sauce wasn’t very creamy, there was too much pasta and we found it a bit bland (which could have been because of the new cajun spice I used). It sounded good, and I generally love your recipes, but this one just wasn’t one of our favorites, although it wasn’t bad, either. I might give it another try but with more modifications.
Hi Helen,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I’m sorry it was not enjoyed, I will say you didn’t follow the recipe as is so I cannot tell you what the results would be when adjusting the ingredients. Perhaps you would enjoy this version better that is not as “lite”:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/parmesan-chicken-pasta/
Please let me know if you give it a try. xTieghan
This is the perfect pantry stable meal! I was struggling to find something to make after our meal delivery kit was not delivered. I was low on milk so I used double of the chicken broth and added a smidge more cream cheese. It turned out fantastic! The whole family loved it. One pot, easy to prepare, easy to clean up and was delicious. This will be going into our rotation for sure! Thank you HBH for yet another sublime meal!
Hey Diana,
Wonderful! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thank you so much for giving the recipe a try!! xTieghan
Great recipe! I bake some bacon while I was cooking on the stove top and it was a great addition.
Hey Brooke,
Happy Sunday! I love to hear this recipe was enjoyed and I truly appreciate you giving it a try! xxTieghan
This recipe did not turn out. I’m a cult follower of half baked harvest and have made dozens of recipes. This one just did not turn our and could not be more disappointed. Followed the recipe exactly.
Hey Ann,
So sorry to hear this, please let me know if I can help in anyway! xTieghan
I agree that this one needed tweaking. There was too much pasta and not enough of the rest of the ingredients. I added WAY more milk, cream cheese, cheese, and seasoning (because of the additional liquid) to it to get it creamy and to coat the pasta. But once I got that fixed, it was very tasty. I’m sure I’ll end up making it again with those adjustments.
This was so good! I did use less pasta than it called for so it was more protein heavy and had more sauce. My husband said it’s his new favorite meal.
Hey Marissa,
Happy Labor Day!?? Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Another great recipe! Similar to some of the other posts below, I had my sauce simmer a bit longer than 5 min and added double the cream cheese.
Hey Kristin,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed!! ☀️xTieghan
So, so tasty! While the crispy chicken in the Cheesecake Factory dup of this meal that was posted a couple of months ago is hard to beat, I’d say overall, this slightly-healthier version is just as delicious!! I did allow the sauce to simmer more like 10-12 minutes instead of 5, per the recipe, and also added a bit more grated Parmesan, but the recipe was easy to follow and will leave you with a super simple weeknight meal!
Hey Grace,
Happy Friday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it! Even the picky 2 year old who only loves chicken nuggets.
Hey Taylor,
Happy Friday! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am delighted that it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
I made this twice now and the sauce never gets thickened and I don’t know why!
Hey Rachael,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, is there anything you are adjusting in the dish? I little more info would be helpful! xTieghan
I made this tonight, and the recipe was delicious! The only thing off was the color of my dish wasn’t near as golden as the picture. Flavor was amazing, but any thoughts on why it was more white in color?
Hey Courtney,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it! Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? xTieghan
I’ve made this twice now, it’s so good!
Hey Melissa,
Happy Friday! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! xTieghan